Energy week and lots of snow...

I don't know the full history of why it is called "Energy Week", but it is part of the school calendar in Austria, and in February we get a week off of school!  Hooray!  Most Austrians go skiing during this week and we did too- but before our vacation started, we went ice skating at the Rathaus...

The following Monday, we headed out to Traunsee for a few days of skiing with friends.

and while the weather was a bit foggy and windy, the kids still had a great time

Ellie makes her way down the slope, while Carson rides the magic carpet

Milka loved watching all of the action and playing in the snow

and the hot chocolate was pretty good too :)

From our hotel we had a nice view of the mountains and the lake

and LOTS of snow

We came back to Vienna on Thursday, and it has been snowing off and on since

Crazy amounts of snow for the city!  

And while it is beautiful, I am having a little "Spring Fever" right about now :)

Gänsehäufel

We have lived in Vienna for 4 years now, and yesterday was the first time we checked out this massive island to swim on...what took us so long?  Who knows. But I am glad we know how to get there now...because it is awesome!

Here we are trying to figure out where to go...so many options and we only paid 9 Euros to get in...yep-for all of us total!

we passed folks playing chess

folks playing volleyball

folks playing mini-golf

but we finally settled here, so the kids could do this...

 

and when they had enough of jumping off of the dock, we headed here

 

and unlike in the States, there was no one at the top regulating when a person could go~

so the kiddos took full advantage of holding each other's feet and crashing into one another :)

 

and we ended our time there with a few minutes on the trampoline!

Eis...

When the weather starts to get all beautiful out, and I am wishing for a backyard...I have to remind myself that scooters and concrete are my friends.  Living in an apartment "makes" us go out and get some fresh air and exercise...

It also gives us an excuse to go and get ice cream...

Our favorite little place, is just down the street

Abby almost always gets coconut...

For Luke it is usually something with chocolate...

Levi usually has a hard time making up his mind...

In the end, he decides on white chocolate and pineapple, but soon realizes he is not a fan of the pineapple after all.  Don't you worry though, Milka comes to the rescue!

and my favorite...GREEN APPLE!!!

So, while many of you enjoy your backyards...we will enjoy our trips to get Eis :)

*and I am trying to bring back Flower Fridays*

Hohe Wand Wiese

Today we went on the sommerrodelbahn in the Hohe Wand Wiese with the Giles Family. It was a blast!
(a little scary for me...but fun none the less)  It is basically a toboggan on a track that can go up to 25 mph.  Thankfully there is one lever that you push to go fast or pull back to slow down.

Here are Brad and Levi getting buckled in...

Here are Luke and Abby "flying" down the hill...

and after a run with Daddy, Levi was ready to go all by himself!

We have really enjoyed getting to know the Gileses. They have been a real source of encouragement to us, fun playmates for the kiddos and they always bring lots of folk to church with them! :)  In just a few short weeks, they will return to North Carolina~ but we are confident that we will keep in touch and that they will come back to visit!

Strandcafe...

The weather has been fabulous lately, so we took the opportunity to go eat a meal on the water a few nights ago.

Strandcafe has some of the best ribs we have ever had and the view of the skyline and water is pretty great too!

Brad enjoys the beer...


and we all enjoy the ribs!!!